About Synergy Life Science Partners: Synergy Life Science Partners is a venture capital firm that focuses on investing in private, early stage medical device companies or emerging companies who are combining a medical device with a therapeutic payload (drugs, biologics, etc.) — the “combination product” opportunities. synergylsp.com

About Abbott Vascular: Abbott Vascular, a division of Abbott, is one of the world’s leading vascular care businesses. Abbott Vascular is uniquely focused on transforming the treatment of vascular disease and improving patient care by combining the latest medical device innovations with world-class pharmaceuticals, investing in research and development and advancing medicine through training and education. abbottvascular.com

About Medtronic Inc: Medtronic is the world’s largest medical technology company, offering an unprecedented breadth and depth of innovative therapies to fulfill our Mission of alleviating pain, restoring health, and extending life. Last year, more than 9 million people benefited from our medical therapies, which treat cardiac and vascular diseases, diabetes, and neurological and musculoskeletal conditions. With a global reach that extends to more than 140 countries, we have a deep understanding of many universal healthcare challenges. We’re using our experience, extensive partnerships, and the passion of 46,000+ employees to help transform healthcare worldwide by improving outcomes, expanding access, and enhancing value.

About Piedmont Capital Partners, LLC: Piedmont Capital Partners is a boutique investment firm with offices in Greensboro, North Carolina. We focus on early stage North Carolina companies and entrepreneurs.

About Abbott Vascular: Abbott Vascular, a division of Abbott, is one of the world’s leading vascular care businesses. Abbott Vascular is uniquely focused on transforming the treatment of vascular disease and improving patient care by combining the latest medical device innovations with world-class pharmaceuticals, investing in research and development and advancing medicine through training and education.

About Medtronic Inc: Medtronic is the world’s largest medical technology company, offering an unprecedented breadth and depth of innovative therapies to fulfill our Mission of alleviating pain, restoring health, and extending life. Last year, more than 9 million people benefited from our medical therapies, which treat cardiac and vascular diseases, diabetes, and neurological and musculoskeletal conditions. With a global reach that extends to more than 140 countries, we have a deep understanding of many universal healthcare challenges. We’re using our experience, extensive partnerships, and the passion of 46,000+ employees to help transform healthcare worldwide by improving outcomes, expanding access, and enhancing value.

About Boston Scientific: Our products and technologies are used to diagnose or treat a wide range of medical conditions, including heart, digestive, pulmonary, vascular, urological, women’s health, and chronic pain conditions. We continue to innovate in these areas and are extending our innovations into new geographies and high-growth adjacency markets.

Dr. Richard S. Stack is President of Synecor, LLC (Synecor) a business generator and financial incubator of new medical device companies based in the Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. He is also General Partner of Synergy Life Science Partners, LP (www.synergylsp.com) a life science venture fund. In the past ten years, Richard has co-founded and invested in eight major medical device companies, including Synecor itself, with a combined current valuation of over $675M. Richard chairs the scientific advisory board, leads the pre-clinical testing services provided at Synecor and is the interim President of each of the Synecor spinout companies.

Richard has long been recognized as an international thought leader in the medical technology field. He has authored over 360 manuscripts, book chapters and scientific abstracts. He has been a principal and co-principal investigator of three NIH grants and received numerous research awards during his career including the International Award for Best Interventional Cardiology Experimental Research (1995, Netherlands). Richard has invented and/or invested in numerous technologies that have become adopted by physicians the world over. He has over 100 worldwide patents issued or pending on a wide variety of medical devices.

Richard is Professor Emeritus of Medicine in Cardiology at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, where he spent his entire academic medical career, since 1981, as Founder and Director of Duke Interventional Cardiology. Richard retired early from his academic career to join the investment community with the formation of Synecor, LLC in the year 2000 and Synergy LSP in 2006.

William N. Starling is Managing Director of Synergy Life Science Partners, LP (www.synergylsp.com) a $143 million Venture Capital Partnership and Chief Executive Officer of Synecor, LLC, (Synecor) a business generator of new Life Science companies based in Research Triangle Park (RTP), North Carolina. Synecor (www.synecor.com) has significant academic, scientific, physician, venture capital, corporate, and investment banking partnerships and is focusing its efforts on the identification and development of proprietary, disruptive technologies with extraordinary market potential in the life sciences field.

As CEO of Synecor, Mr. Starling is a cofounder of BaroSense, Inc., Bioerodible Vascular Solutions, Inc., (BVS, acquired by Guidant/Abbott in March 2003), InnerPulse, Inc., TransEnterix, Inc. (NYSE:TRXC), Interventional Autonomics Corporation, NeuroTronik Limited, Aegis Surgical Limited, and Atrius Limited the initial eight companies founded and incubated by Synecor. Mr. Starling currently serves as CEO of Aegis Surgical Limited, and Atrius Limited, both Irish-based companies in the structural heart field; Chairman of the Board of Interventional Autonomics Corporation, and as a board member of TransEnterix, Inc. (NYSE: TRXC), a RTP, NC – based surgery company developing the world’s first patient-side robotic surgical system for single incision surgery. Mr. Starling was on the Board of iRhythm Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: IRTC) in San Francisco, a Stanford BioDesign spinout, since its inception in January 2007 until its initial public offering October 20, 2016.

William N. Starling received his BSBA degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his MBA degree from the University of Southern California. He began his 39-year career in the medical technology device industry at American Edwards Laboratories (Edwards LifeSciences – NYSE:EW). He was subsequently part of the founding management team and Director of Marketing for Advanced Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. (acquired by Guidant/Abbott), and was cofounder, Vice President and Board member of Ventritex, Inc. (IPO in 1992, acquired by St. Jude Medical in 1997). Mr. Starling was cofounder and Chairman of the Board of Directors and President/CEO of Cardiac Pathways Corporation (IPO in 1996, acquired by Boston Scientific Corporation in 2001). The start-up companies he has co-founded today represent over $4 billion in annual revenues and Mr. Starling is responsible for raising over $260M in private and public capital for these development stage companies.

Mr. Starling serves on the Stanford Stroke Center’s Board of Advisors at the Stanford University Medical Center. He also serves on the Kenan-Flagler Business School Board of Visitors (Chairman 2009-2014), Chairman of the UNC/NCSU Department of Biomedical Engineering Industry Advisory Board and the Chancellor’s Innovation Circle at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he frequently guest lectures to undergraduate and graduate students on entrepreneurism. Mr. Starling is the recipient of the 2016 UNC Kenan-Flagler Leadership Award, awarded annually to an alumnus for exceptional achievement in a career field, personal endeavor or service to UNC Kenan-Flagler.

Fred McCoy, Vice Chairman of Synecor, LLC (www.synecor.com), is CEO of NeuroTronik Limited, founded on technology of Synecor and Interventional Autonomics Corporation and domiciled in Ireland. NeuroTronik, now a venture-backed, development-stage company, exists to develop and commercialize a novel neuromodulation therapy, for use in hospitals, to treat acute heart failure. The objectives are to improve clinical and economic outcomes for patients, physicians, hospitals, and payers.

A native of Laurinburg, North Carolina, Mr. McCoy graduated as a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1979. He graduated as a Master of Management from the Northwestern University J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management in 1981.

Mr. McCoy began his business career with Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis, Indiana. There he worked in a series of assignments of increasing responsibility in finance in the corporate, domestic, international, pharmaceutical, and agricultural businesses of the Company. During part of this early period, he also served as a pharmaceutical sales representative in Montgomery, Alabama.

In 1988, Mr. McCoy became Vice President of Finance of Hybritech Incorporated, a Lilly subsidiary, in San Diego, California. In 1991, he became Chief Financial Officer of Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc., a Lilly subsidiary, in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Mr. McCoy entered general management in 1994 as General Manager, Northwest Operations, in Seattle, Washington. Later in 1994, Guidant Corporation was formed out of the medical technology enterprises of Lilly. In 1995, Mr. McCoy became Vice President of United States Operations – West.

In 1997, he moved to Tokyo, Japan as President, Guidant Japan and Asia Pacific Operations.

In 2000, Mr. McCoy became President, Guidant Cardiac Rhythm Management, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he served until March 2006 pending the sale of the Company.

Mr. McCoy is a member of the Boards of Directors of NeuroTronik, Synecor, Interventional Autonomics Corporation, and Physcient. He is advisor to several emerging companies in medical technology. He serves on the Boards of Trustees of Webber International University and of St. Andrews University. He has served on the Board of Visitors and on the Chancellor’s Innovation Circle, both of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has served as a member of the Kellogg Alumni Council of the Kellogg School at Northwestern University.